Just off the Fantasy and DCL continues to amaze us!

[ChicosWife]

Firstly, the Western Caribbean itinerary is one we would definitely do a second time. Second, each cruise with Disney proves that DCL does it like no other. The extra-special things that they do to go above and beyond will keep me coming back! Compared to other cruise lines, the old adage is true. You really do get what you pay for!!!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Glad that you enjoyed your Disney cruise!

 

[grantclaire]

Thanks for the update! We are sailing the Western this Feb. on the Fantasy. Loved this ship the last time we sailed!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

The Fantasy will always be special for us, since we were on the maiden voyage. That first cruise was also a Western Caribbean.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Can you share one special thing?

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

Can you share one special thing?

Just being on the maiden voyage of a new cruise ship made it special! And because we were on the very first sailing with passengers, we were able to go immediately to our staterooms upon embarking! We were the first passengers to use our stateroom cabin. Everything on the ship is new!

 

[ChicosWife]

Can you share one special thing?

There are so many. The ship itself is beautiful! I lost my sunglasses at CC, when going down the waterslides. I told the lifeguard. He told me not to worry, that the glasses would be waiting for me at Guest Services when I return to the ship. I thought, "Yeah, okay. The glasses are in the ocean!". Sure enough, I got back on the ship, went to Guest Services and there were my glasses!!! Disney magic!!!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

The Fantasy will always be special for us, since we were on the maiden voyage. That first cruise was also a Western Caribbean.

We were on the 3rd sailing (1st sailing of the Eastern itinerary). My wife wanted Eastern instead, so we ended up the 3rd (both 1st and 2nd were Western). However, I do have one of the specially printed menu's from the 1st sailing and I have a shirt from that sailing that is very special to me.

I think the asking for one thing special was directed to the OP. However, I will give you something that I remember from one of our sailings that was non-standard when it comes to other lines. It regards that menu I mention above. We were on the third sailing for the fantasy and we were eating our first night in Animators Palette which happened to be Lobster night. My wife is allergic to shellfish - but generally only if she eats it, so thought it would be safe. However with all the cracking the legs open and juices in the air, she had a pretty bad reaction. She left and went out to the lobby for fresh air (not dangerously gasping, but enough that she took an inhaler). Almost immediately a manager grabbed me and asked if she was okay. I told him that she needed some fresh air because of her allergy. The manager immediately went out to the lobby - he stayed at a respectable distance, but within eyesight of her. He had to leave but another CM took his place instantly. What followed for the next 30 minutes was a well choreographed tag team stream of CM's that were staying a respectable distance from her, but never for one second letting her out of sight until she came back. They wouldn't even let me follow - they insisted I stayed and watched the show and recorded it for both of us, but seeing as how I was concerned, they kept reporting back to me every few minutes on how she was. After she came back, our waiter gave her that menu as a keepsake since they had really nothing else they could give her to compensate her, but felt horrible about her experience.

The reason why I consider it so special to me though is that I have been on other cruises and just seen waiters or staff shrug off when someone leaves figuring they will be okay, or will go to sick bay or someone else will help them. Whether for insurance purposes or not, these people were genuinely concerned about my wife and there was never one second of doubt that even if it was not an insurance concern they would have done the same thing because they truly cared. Insisting I stay for the show and keeping me updated so I never felt concerned about her was just icing on the cake - these were not people doing a job - these were good people taking care of their fellow human beings. For that, i will always be grateful to DCL.

 

[party-of-five]

I agree, it's the little things! Too many to count! From my six year old asking how the kid club counselors always remember his name (as in before we check in, as we are approaching the counter). Or the one night in the dining room when my son fell asleep on my lap at dinner and the waiter cut up my steak into bite sized pieces so that I could more easily enjoy my dinner. Or every time we would return to our stateroom our hostess would genuinely inquire about our day and always made us feel so at home. Or seeing Captain Jack Sparrow stop and kneel beside an elderly woman in a wheel chair and make small talk before kissing her hand and going about his way. Or seeing a cast member poolside help a mom with a child in a wheel chair with her lunch tray and then ask her what she would like to drink and go get it for them. The random character interactions like Minnie and Daisy passing in the hall and giving one another a little hug. But the big one for me on this trip was when on the first day, while unpacking, I realized I forgot to pack my formal dress for formal night. I was so disappointed because my husband and boys all had 3 piece suits and my daughter had her beautiful dress and I was looking forward to finally getting a nice family photo. I was bummed! DH called down to guest services and the next morning they brought me 2 brand new black dresses to try. One of them fit! I felt like Cinderella!!!

 

[Minnie & Daisy]

But the big one for me on this trip was when on the first day, while unpacking, I realized I forgot to pack my formal dress for formal night. I was so disappointed because my husband and boys all had 3 piece suits and my daughter had her beautiful dress and I was looking forward to finally getting a nice family photo. I was bummed! DH called down to guest services and the next morning they brought me 2 brand new black dresses to try. One of them fit! I felt like Cinderella!!!

That just gave me chills! How very special!

 

[ChicosWife]

On this cruise, we had a small toilet issue. No big deal. We called Guest Services, they sent someone right up and it was fixed quickly. For the next 2 days, we received calls and a little card, asking us if everything was okay and checking to see if we had any more problems. On the 3rd day, it was struggling to flush again, so we called again. Again they came up and fixed it immediately. That afternoon, we had a care package of Mickey Mouse rice krispy treats and a bag of popcorn as an apology gift! So unnecessary, as these things happen and we had no sore feelings about it, but DCL went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. We felt like VIP's, even though we were only on deck 2, in a category 9 room!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Love this thread, thanks for posting! Going on the Western Fantasy in 19 days!

 

[Mitura]

I agree DCL does it better than others that is why I always tell everyone about them.

I have a tons of "above and beyond the call of duty". Here are 2.

1) Son teenager, slightly autistic. Loves the Buena Vista movie theater. He goes to at least 6 per cruise. He went and saw Antman in the theater right before dinner, alone. At dinner I asked him how Antman was. He said great, I had the whole theater to myself. Cool! And he said Pluto came in and watched some of the movie with me. Just my son and Pluto, how cool is that!

2) Different DCL cruise. Bad story made right. Son got norovirus. Me and older son went to dinner, wife stayed behind gave and me her menu wish. When I got to dinner the waiter, asst waiter and head room waiter all knew what my wife wanted for dinner. How did they know? Here Guest Services went to check on my son, with Gatorade and Pedilite and in front of their eyes got violently sick. Guest services went into over drive. 2 cabin mates cleaned everything and I mean everything, they then called the dinning hall with her order. Amazing that they all went into overdrive, my wife said. I got back unknowing that all of this happened.

Again just 2 examples of how DCL does it right.

 

[xQuizx]

Firstly, the Western Caribbean itinerary is one we would definitely do a second time. Second, each cruise with Disney proves that DCL does it like no other. The extra-special things that they do to go above and beyond will keep me coming back! Compared to other cruise lines, the old adage is true. You really do get what you pay for!!!

I'm glad you had a great experience, we are going this Saturday and are very excited.

Do you happen to have copies of the daily navigators to share?

 

[Sepo]

I don’t mean this as a negative at all, but does anyone else have insight into the uncanny degree of guest information they have?

During our Fantasy cruise, one night during a deck party, a CM was bumped from behind and domino-effect spilled a serving tray of filled champagne glasses (plastic), soaking my young daughter’s fleece pullover. Stinky.

I reported it later that night to GS to ask for assistance with the cleaning. They offered to take care of the dry cleaning which was all I wanted.

By the time I got to our stateroom, the attendant already knew about it and had made arrangements. The servers at dinner the next night knew all about it too. The morning after the incident though, 2 surprise stuffed toys were waiting for the kids, very unexpected. But here’s the kicker... they were exactly the items they had been perseverating over in the shops earlier in the cruise.

How?! Did they track their bands (not sure they were wearing) and pull up a video file from the gift shop? Did the gift shop employee jot a note in a digital file that they all share. Was it pure coincidence?

It was great of course. Just thought provoking too.

 

[Fantasyfanatic]

What characters have y'all seen lately on the Fantasy? We go in December.

 

[tinkerone]

We were on the 3rd sailing (1st sailing of the Eastern itinerary). My wife wanted Eastern instead, so we ended up the 3rd (both 1st and 2nd were Western). However, I do have one of the specially printed menu's from the 1st sailing and I have a shirt from that sailing that is very special to me.

I think the asking for one thing special was directed to the OP. However, I will give you something that I remember from one of our sailings that was non-standard when it comes to other lines. It regards that menu I mention above. We were on the third sailing for the fantasy and we were eating our first night in Animators Palette which happened to be Lobster night. My wife is allergic to shellfish - but generally only if she eats it, so thought it would be safe. However with all the cracking the legs open and juices in the air, she had a pretty bad reaction. She left and went out to the lobby for fresh air (not dangerously gasping, but enough that she took an inhaler). Almost immediately a manager grabbed me and asked if she was okay. I told him that she needed some fresh air because of her allergy. The manager immediately went out to the lobby - he stayed at a respectable distance, but within eyesight of her. He had to leave but another CM took his place instantly. What followed for the next 30 minutes was a well choreographed tag team stream of CM's that were staying a respectable distance from her, but never for one second letting her out of sight until she came back. They wouldn't even let me follow - they insisted I stayed and watched the show and recorded it for both of us, but seeing as how I was concerned, they kept reporting back to me every few minutes on how she was. After she came back, our waiter gave her that menu as a keepsake since they had really nothing else they could give her to compensate her, but felt horrible about her experience.

The reason why I consider it so special to me though is that I have been on other cruises and just seen waiters or staff shrug off when someone leaves figuring they will be okay, or will go to sick bay or someone else will help them. Whether for insurance purposes or not, these people were genuinely concerned about my wife and there was never one second of doubt that even if it was not an insurance concern they would have done the same thing because they truly cared. Insisting I stay for the show and keeping me updated so I never felt concerned about her was just icing on the cake - these were not people doing a job - these were good people taking care of their fellow human beings. For that, i will always be grateful to DCL.

Not to take away from your experience, it was great customer service, however I will tell you that we received much the same care on our sailing on the Oasis in October. When I left to use the restroom, which was out of character for me, the wait team both quizzed my husband on whether or not I was okay, did I need any assistance, was there anything that they could do. We were both impressed that they noticed that leaving the table was not something that was a norm for me. DH said they stopped by the table three times to check before I returned. Again, your wives experience was a medical emergency and mine wasn't so its hard to compare however when you get good CM's you remember.
Having that sort of attention certainly is a thing you don't forget.

 

[Jennifer777]

I don’t mean this as a negative at all, but does anyone else have insight into the uncanny degree of guest information they have?

During our Fantasy cruise, one night during a deck party, a CM was bumped from behind and domino-effect spilled a serving tray of filled champagne glasses (plastic), soaking my young daughter’s fleece pullover. Stinky.

I reported it later that night to GS to ask for assistance with the cleaning. They offered to take care of the dry cleaning which was all I wanted.

By the time I got to our stateroom, the attendant already knew about it and had made arrangements. The servers at dinner the next night knew all about it too. The morning after the incident though, 2 surprise stuffed toys were waiting for the kids, very unexpected. But here’s the kicker... they were exactly the items they had been perseverating over in the shops earlier in the cruise.

How?! Did they track their bands (not sure they were wearing) and pull up a video file from the gift shop? Did the gift shop employee jot a note in a digital file that they all share. Was it pure coincidence?

It was great of course. Just thought provoking too.

It's so funny that you brought this up because prior to our most recent sailing I had been researching biometrics technology as it is beginning to impact my business and in the process I learned that DCL uses a facial recognition program on their ships for things like shutters photographs and the interactive art used for the mid ship detective agency. I also found reports on message boards of DCL security using facial recognition in real time to track and locate lost kids, though this is not something I have been able to substantiate with official reports. IF (again, this has not been confirmed) they are using facial recognition for security purposes they could easily use that to track activity in the stores as well. While on board Fantasy a few weeks ago I noticed a tip posted on the navigator app that you could collect merchandise from all the stores and purchase all at once at any checkout, no need to pay in each store before leaving. I would think they would need more than just basic security cameras monitoring people as they leave the stores with arms full of unpaid merchandise, especially during those really busy times.

On a different note, I'm surprised you had to call GS to arrange cleaning of your daughter's pullover. On our first cruise our cabin was directly aft and CMs were doing some work in what I assume to be the utility or power room right next door. We ended up with black soot all over our balcony and subsequently, on some of our clothes. I quietly said something about it to my husband and shortly afterwards received a call in our stateroom from GS asking if they could send someone up to collect the dirty items to be cleaned (complimentary). We figured the guys next door must have some how overheard us talking about it and notified GS. They definitely do have ways of communicating and sharing info behind the scenes and it would be really interesting to find what kind of data they typically collect, how it's collected and shared, what purposes it's used for and how it's protected.

 

[Sepo]

IF (again, this has not been confirmed) they are using facial recognition for security purposes they could easily use that to track activity in the stores as well.

This seems a very plausible explanation. Thanks!!

 

[ChicosWife]

I don’t mean this as a negative at all, but does anyone else have insight into the uncanny degree of guest information they have?

During our Fantasy cruise, one night during a deck party, a CM was bumped from behind and domino-effect spilled a serving tray of filled champagne glasses (plastic), soaking my young daughter’s fleece pullover. Stinky.

I reported it later that night to GS to ask for assistance with the cleaning. They offered to take care of the dry cleaning which was all I wanted.

By the time I got to our stateroom, the attendant already knew about it and had made arrangements. The servers at dinner the next night knew all about it too. The morning after the incident though, 2 surprise stuffed toys were waiting for the kids, very unexpected. But here’s the kicker... they were exactly the items they had been perseverating over in the shops earlier in the cruise.

How?! Did they track their bands (not sure they were wearing) and pull up a video file from the gift shop? Did the gift shop employee jot a note in a digital file that they all share. Was it pure coincidence?

It was great of course. Just thought provoking too.

What characters have y'all seen lately on the Fantasy? We go in December.

We saw many of them. Of course the main ones, Mickey & gang, plus most of the princesses, Captain Hook, Dr. Strange and a couple of Star Wars characters.

It's so funny that you brought this up because prior to our most recent sailing I had been researching biometrics technology as it is beginning to impact my business and in the process I learned that DCL uses a facial recognition program on their ships for things like shutters photographs and the interactive art used for the mid ship detective agency. I also found reports on message boards of DCL security using facial recognition in real time to track and locate lost kids, though this is not something I have been able to substantiate with official reports. IF (again, this has not been confirmed) they are using facial recognition for security purposes they could easily use that to track activity in the stores as well. While on board Fantasy a few weeks ago I noticed a tip posted on the navigator app that you could collect merchandise from all the stores and purchase all at once at any checkout, no need to pay in each store before leaving. I would think they would need more than just basic security cameras monitoring people as they leave the stores with arms full of unpaid merchandise, especially during those really busy times.

On a different note, I'm surprised you had to call GS to arrange cleaning of your daughter's pullover. On our first cruise our cabin was directly aft and CMs were doing some work in what I assume to be the utility or power room right next door. We ended up with black soot all over our balcony and subsequently, on some of our clothes. I quietly said something about it to my husband and shortly afterwards received a call in our stateroom from GS asking if they could send someone up to collect the dirty items to be cleaned (complimentary). We figured the guys next door must have some how overheard us talking about it and notified GS. They definitely do have ways of communicating and sharing info behind the scenes and it would be really interesting to find what kind of data they typically collect, how it's collected and shared, what purposes it's used for and how it's protected.

Yes, they do use facial recognition. One of the photographers told us, when we had our picture taken on Castaway Cay, when I asked if he needed our KTTW card for the photo.